I. ASCRC General Education Form
Group
V: Literary and Artistic Studies
English/Literature
Dept/Program
Course #
ENLT 349
Course Title
Prerequisite
3
None
Studies in Medieval Literature
Credits
II. Endorsement/Approvals
Complete the form and obtain signatures before submitting to Faculty Senate Office
Please type / print name Signature
English Literature Faculty
Instructor
(Ashby Kinch)
Date
09/10/08
4462
Phone / Email
Program Chair
Ashby Kinch/Casey Charles
Dean
Gerald Fetz
III. Description and purpose of the course: General Education courses must be introductory
and foundational. They must emphasize breadth, context, and connectedness; and relate course
content to students’ future lives: See Preamble:
http://www.umt.edu/facultysenate/gened/GEPreamble_final.htm
This course aims to introduce students to medieval literature and deepen their understanding of a
period about which average American readers often have little understanding. Medieval
literature is foundational in that many of the literary and cultural institutions that evolved to
support the growth of literary culture coincided with the political institutions that evolved into
European nation-states. Although the course has variable course content, each version of the
class stresses some element of medieval literature that has an immediate and discernible impact
on the evolution of modern culture: in the Anglo-Saxon version, an emphasis on the evolution of
the English language and the common law; in the continental version of the course, an emphasis
on “courtly love” and the public debates on women. The “broadly educated citizen” should
reflect deeply on the importance of public literacy as it has been connected with the evolution of
literature, and on the ethics of love as it has been central to political and literary debates from the
14th century to the 20th century women’s movement. The courses are also inherently
interdisciplinary, with substantial attention paid to manuscript study, history, religion, art history
and, less often, music.
IV. Criteria: Briefly explain how this course meets the criteria for the group. See:
http://www.umt.edu/facultysenate/ASCRCx/Adocuments/GE_Criteria5-1-08.htm
Courses cover a number of works in one or
more of the various forms of artistic
representation; they also establish a framework
and context for analysis of the structure and
significance of these works.
Every version of the course addresses both
poetic form and prose narrative, placing
imaginative literary texts within the medieval
European intellectual context by stressing
their shared intellectual affinities with the
major traditions of thought. Because context
is essential to understanding medieval
literature, students do extensive reading in
historical and social concepts and concerns
and apply those ideas to the literary texts in
discussion and writing.
In addition, these courses provide mechanisms
for students: 1) to receive instruction on the
methods of analysis and criticism, 2) to develop
arguments about the works from differing
critical perspectives
In-class discussion and lecture provide the
opportunity for students to be exposed to
modes of analysis particularly relevant to
medieval literature, including attention to
developing patterns of allegory and the
relationship between aesthetic and
philosophical form. Students are also exposed
to a variety of different ways of approaching
medieval literature (historical, psychological,
moral, etc).
V. Student Learning Goals: Briefly explain how this course will meet the applicable learning
goals. See: http://www.umt.edu/facultysenate/ASCRCx/Adocuments/GE_Criteria5-1-08.htm
Analyze works of art with respect to structure
In both exams and written work, students are
routinely asked to conduct close reading and
and significance within literary and artistic
analysis of specific texts with respect to their
traditions, including emergent movements and
forms.
importance in their cultural context.
Primarily in longer written assignments, but
Develop coherent arguments that critique these
also in shorter papers, students are asked to
works from a variety of approaches, such as
historical, aesthetic, cultural, psychological,
write thesis-driven papers on major problems
political, and philosophical.
or issues that they develop in consultation
with me, including developing a conceptual
framework within which to analyze the text.
ASSESSMENT
In-class discussion provides invaluable
material for me to ascertain whether students
understand questions of structure and merit
with respect to individual texts (Goal I). I
provide direct feedback to students on their
online postings, in which they are analyzing
the content of individual works (Goal II).
Two reading exams (see sample below) also
allow me to assess student absorption of both
content and analysis (see sample exam
below). Students’ most substantial critical
engagement with the texts comes in the
research paper, for which they are required to
do external research (see research paper
description below). Goal II is thus engaged in
various ways, distributed throughout the
course, but perhaps most focused in the
research paper, in which they are supposed to
analyze a text or text closely within its
cultural context.
VII. Syllabus: Paste syllabus below or attach and send digital copy with form. ⇓ The syllabus
should clearly describe how the above criteria are satisfied. For assistance on syllabus
preparation see: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/syllabus.html
ENLT 349L: Anglo-Saxon Literature in Its Cultural Context
Dr. Ashby Kinch: ashby.kinch@umontana.edu; Tel.: 243-4462
Office: LA 126; Office Hours: TTh 1-2; W: 10-11; by appointment
Course Description:
In “Bone Dreams,” Seamus Heaney writes, “In the coffered/riches of grammar/and declensions/I
found ban-hus,/ its fire, benches, wattle and rafters,/where the soul/ fluttered a while/ in the
roofspace.” Heaney’s poem powerfully evokes a connection to Anglo-Saxon poetry, not only
through an allusion to Bede’s sparrow flying in the rafters of a mead hall, but through recycling
the language of Old English poetry, so rich in metaphorical language like “ban-hus,” a kenning
for the bone-house of our shared body. This course will seek to connect students directly to this
vibrant core of the English language by exploring its “coffered riches,” the earliest English
poems. Students will read in translation a selection of major and minor Old English texts,
ranging from “Caedmon’s Hymn,” the vexed origin of English poetry, to Beowulf, its grandest
articulation. We will read Old English elegies, riddles, and selections of prose, setting this
literature in its cultural context by examining the dynamic interchange between Germanic oral
and Christian literary cultures. Students will also gain some exposure to Old English language
through a brief unit on the grammar of Old English, as well as optional reading assignments in
original Old English texts.
General Education Goals Met by This Course (from the University Gen Ed Description):
Upon completion of the Literary & Artistic Studies requirement (V), a student will be able:
1. analyze works of art with respect to structure and significance within literary and artistic
traditions, including emergent movements and forms; and
2. develop coherent arguments that critique these works from a variety of approaches, such as
historical, aesthetic, cultural, psychological, political, and philosophical.
Texts:
Crossley-Holland, Kevin. The Anglo-Saxon World: An Anthology. Oxford University Press,
1999. ISBN: 0-19-283547-5 (on Syllabus = ASW)
Beowulf—A Verse Translation (Norton Critical Tradition). Tr. Seamus Heaney, ed. Daniel
Donoghue. W.W. Norton, 2001. ISBN 0-393-97580-0
Blackboard Supplement: you will be required to utilized this resource, which can be accessed at
http://umonline.umt.edu, where you will find instructions on how to log in. It is
incumbent on you to access this resource: if you have difficulties logging in because of a
problem with your password, get in touch with UM Online immediately at 243.6394 or
via email marvin.paulson@umontana.edu.
*Hogg, Richard. An Introduction to Old English. Oxford Univ. Press, 2004.
*This text is required for all students who are going to pursue the Old English option.
Course Requirements:
Weekly Writing (10 total) on Blackboard (due each Monday by noon): 20%
Culture/History/Language Exam: 25% (March 8th)
Reading Exam: 25% (April 26th)
Research Paper/Critical Essay: 30% (8-10 pp.)
*Students may substitute Old English language study for this essay by consulting with
me before Week IV about a semester-long plan.
Course Outline/Reading Schedule
Week 1: Origins and Ends: Distant and Proximate
Jan. 23rd: In-class: Knowledge and Interests Survey
Read In-Class: Beowulf (opening lines); passages from historical English (handout)
Discuss: Old English/Hist of English, 1066 and All That (Ends as Origins)
th
Jan. 25 : Bede’s Sparrow, Cædmon’s Hymn
Read: from Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People ASW pp. 156-175
Read: Charlton Laird, “The Language as it Was” (handout)
Discuss: vexed origins; Old English-Latin Relations: orality, lyricism, authority
Week 2: Writing Response 1 due on Blackboard on Monday at noon
Jan. 30th: “History” and the History of the English Language
Read: excerpts from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, ASW pp. 34-43
Read: Curran, Chapter 2, “The Writing Systems of Old English” and Chapter 3 excerpt
“The Sounds of Old English” (e-res)
Discuss: volkwanderung; Angle-cynn; Saxons, Jutes and Other Invaders
Feb. 1st: Wergeld and Fæ∂u: the Blood-Feud and its Cultural Cost
Read: “Laws,” ASW 23-31; “Charters, Tracts, and Wills,” ASW pp. 252-266
Read: R.D. Fulk and Christopher Cain, “Anglo-Saxon England and Its Literature: A
Social History” from A History of Old English Literature, pp. 1-35. (e-res)
Discuss: Christian ethics, pagan practices; fu∂ark/runic inscriptions (handout)
Week 3: Writing Response 2 due on Blackboard on Monday at noon
Feb. 6th: Wyrd, Providence, Fate
Read: Destiny: “The Fortunes of Men,” ASW pp. 302-306; “The Gifts of Men”
(handout); “The Wanderer,” ASW, pp. 50-3; excerpt from Alfred’s OE transl. of
Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy (handout)
Read: Daniel Donoghue, “The Hall”, pp. 29-55, Old English Literature: A Short
Introduction (e-res)
th
Feb. 8 : Alcuin, Christian Community, England and the Continent
Read: Genesis B and Christ and Satan (e-res)
Read: “Greetings in Christ,” ASW pp. 178-192.
Week 4: Writing Response 3 due on Blackboard on Monday at noon
Feb. 13th: Alfredian Reforms
Read: “The Life of Alfred,” “Preface to Pastoral Care,” ASW pp. 208-220
Feb. 15th: Alfred: Literacy, Learning and Power
Read: Ælfric, “A Colloquy,” “The Passion of St. Edmund,” ASW pp. 220-234
Discuss: monastic scriptoria, Anglo-Saxon book illumination
Week 5: Writing Response 4 due on Blackboard on Monday at noon
Feb. 20th: The Duguth
Read: Deor, Waldere, Maldon, ASW pp. 1-18
Feb. 22nd: Inventing the Heroic Ethos
Read: Brunahburh, ASW pp. 19-21; excerpts on the “heroic code” (handout);
Exploration: “Voyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan,” ASW pp. 61-68.
Week 6: Writing Response 5 due on Blackboard on Monday at noon
Feb. 27th: Beowulf, lines 1-1798 (pp. 1-46)
March 1st: Beowulf, lines 1799-3182 (pp. 47-78); “Translator’s Introduction,” pp. xv- xxxviii
Week 7: No Writing Response; post Exam Review on Blackboard
March 6th: Beowulf: The Finn Episode and “The Finnsburg Fragment,” in ASW, 8-9
Read: Widsith (handout)
March 8th: History and Culture Exam
Week 8: Writing Response 6 due on Blackboard on Monday at noon
March 13th: Beowulf: Grendel, Heorot, and the Community of Warriors
Read: Students choose select criticism (Critical Edition and/or e-res/J-STOR)
March 15th: Grendel and Beowulf: film screening/discussion
Week 9: Writing Response 7 due on Blackboard on Monday at noon
March 20th: Beowulf: Hrothgar, the Hug, and Hygelac
Read: Students choose select criticism (Critical Edition and/or e-res/J-STOR)
March 22nd: Beowulf: Women, Hard and Soft
Read: Judith (e-res)
Week 10 (March 26th-March 30th): SPRING BREAK
Week 11: Writing Response 8 due on Blackboard
April 3rd: wrap-up Beowulf/Judith
April 5th: Pagan Forms, Christian Meanings: The Exeter Book Anthology
“The Seafarer,” ASW pp. 53-56 (plus alternate translations)
Re-Read: “The Wanderer” (plus alternate translation)
Discuss: Exeter Book/the millenerial sentiment
Week 12: Writing Response 9 (Research Paper Prospectus) due online Mon at noon
April 10th: Imagine the Voice of Wood
Read: “The Dream of the Rood,” ASW pp. 200-204
Read: Wulfstan, “Sermon of Wolf to the English People,” ASW, pp. 292-9.
April 12th: Exile and the Woman’s Voice
Read: “The Wife’s Lament,” ASW pp. 56-7 (plus alternate translations);
Read: Students choose one piece of criticism on “The Wife’s Lament” (e-res)
Week 13: The Elegy
April 17th: Continue Wife’s Lament discussion
Re-read: Deor, the Wanderer
April 19th: Love, Loss, Lament, and Fragmentation
Read: “The Husband’s Message,” “Wulf,” ASW, pp. 57-9
Week 14: Annotated Bibliography for research paper due on Blackboard, Monday, 5 p.m.
April 24th: Read: “The Phoenix,” “The Whale,” “The Panther,” ASW pp. 280-289
April 26th: Second Reading Exam
Week 15: Research paper draft due on Blackboard, Monday 5 p.m.
May 1st: Workshop on research paper
May 3rd: Workshop on research paper
Research Paper due on Wednesday, May 8th by noon.
Anglo-Saxon Literature Exam
*All answers (except for #5) should be written in a Blue Book, on loose notebook paper, or
typed into a computer file.
Part I: Short Answer (10 x 3 points each; 30 points)
Short questions on Anglo-Saxon culture, focusing on the relationship between major cultural
events and the evolution of a distinction Anglo-Saxon literary culture.
me at least three ways in which Lindisfarne is important to our understanding of Anglo-Saxon
culture?
2) Who wrote the “Colloquy” and why is it important to our understanding of Anglo-Saxon
culture?
3) Who wrote these laws and what cultural problems do they address?
“If a husband sacrifice to devils without his wife’s knowledge, he is liable to pay all his
goods and healsfang; if they both sacrifice to devils, they are to be liable to pay
healsfang and all their goods…
“If anyone gives meat to his household in time of fasting, he is to redeem both freeman
and slave with healsfang.”
4) Why is Bede’s account of Cædmon’s Hymn such an important text in our understanding of the
evolution of the literary culture of Anglo-Saxon England?
5) In a couple of sentences, describe the structure of the Old English poetic line. Also, scan the
following lines, marking primary stress (\) and secondary stress (/), and underlining the
alliterating elements. (Mark directly on the exam)
Hu mihtig God
Durh sidne sefan
Eard ond eorlscipe;
manna cynne
snyttru bryta∂
he ah ealra geweald.
6) What is the Danelaw and why is it important to our understanding of 9th century England?
7) Who is Vortigern and what role does he play in English history?
8) Who wrote the following and why is it important:
“Therefore it seems better to me, if you think so, for us also to translate some books which are
most needful for all men to know into the language which we can all understand, and for you to
do as we very easily can if we have tranquility enough, that is, that all the youth now in England
of free men, who are rich enough to be able to devote themselves to it, be set to learn as long as
they are not fir for any other occupation, until they are able to read English writing well; and let
those be afterwards taught more in the Latin language who are to continue in learning and be
promoted to a higher rank.”
9) What is a kenning? Give an example. How do they relate to the appositive style and what is
their poetic function?
10) What are the most important differences between Old English and Modern English?
Part II: Passage Analysis (8 x 5 points each; 40 points)
Identify, analyze and comment upon eight of the following ten passages, noting:
¾ the context of the text in which the passage occurs;
¾ its relevance to a larger theme/pattern in the text;
¾ connections to a central idea in Anglo-Saxon culture;
¾ its use of poetic language to advance its purpose.
Passage 1
“
Meanwhile, a thane
Of the king’s household, a carrier of tales,
A traditional singer deeply schooled
In the lore of the past, linked a new theme
To a strict meter. The man started
To recite with skill, rehearsing [his]
Triumphs and feats in well-fashioned lines,
Entwining his words. He told what he’d heard
Repeated in songs about Sigemund’s exploits,
All of those many feats and marvels.”
Passage 2
“Then he flung his spear in fury at the proud Viking
who dared inflict such pain. His aim was skillful,
The spear split open the warrior’s neck….
The brave earl [name withheld] was delighted at this;
He laughed out loud, and gave thanks to the Lord
That such good fortune had been granted to him.
But one of the seafarers sent a sharp javelin
Speeding from his hand; it pierced the body
Of the [earl], Ethelred’s brave thane.
By his side stood a young warrior,
Wulfmær by name, Wulfstan’s son,
A stripling in the fight, who full boldly
Drew out the blood-red javelin from [his earl’s] side;
He sent the tempered weapon flying back again;
The sharp point struck home; the Viking who had injured
His prince so grievously sank to the ground.
Then a seafarer bore down on the earl,
He had it in mind to snatch away the treasures—
His armour and rings and ornamented sword.”
Passage 3
“Lo, it is nearly 350 years that we and our fathers have inhabited this most lovely land, and
never before has such terror appeared in Britain as we have now suffered from a pagan race, nor
was it thought that such an inroad from the sea could be made. Behold, the church of St.
Cuthbert spattered with the blood of the priests of God, despoiled of all its ornaments; a place
more venerable than all in Britain is given as prey to pagan peoples….Consider carefully,
brothers, and examine diligently, lest perchance this unaccustomed and unheard of evil was
merited by some unheard-of evil practice.”
Passage 4
“Another of the king’s chief men signified his agreement with this prudent argument, and went
on to say: ‘Your Majesty, when we compare the present life of man with that time of which we
have no knowledge, it seems me like the swift flight of a long sparrow through the banquetinghall where you sit in the winter months to dine with your thanes and counselors. Inside, there is a
comforting fire to warm the room; outside, the wintry storms of snow and rain are raging. This
sparrow flies swiftly in through one door of the hall, and out through another. While he is inside,
he is safe from the winter storms; but after a few moments of comfort, he vanishes from sight
into the darkness whence he came.’”
Passage 5
“Inspired again,
By the thought of glory, the war-king threw
His whole strength behind a sword stroke
And connected with the skull. And Naegling snapped.
Beowulf’s ancient iron-gray sword
Let him down in the fight. It was never his fortune
To be helped in combat by the cutting edge
Of weapons made of iron. When he wielded a sword
No matter how blooded and hard-edged the blade,
His hand was too strong, the stroke he dealt
(I have heard) would ruin it. He could reap no advantage.”
Passage 6
“The sword’s edge will shear the life of one
at the mead-bench, some angry sot
soaked with wine. His words were too hasty.
One will not stay the cupbearer’s hand
And becomes befuddled; then at the feast
He cannot control his tongue with his mind
But most meanly forfeits his life;
He suffers death, severance from joys;
And men style him a self-slayer,
And deplore that drunkard, maddened by mead.”
Passage 7
“His noble birth implanted in him from his cradle a love of wisdom above all things, even amid
all the occupations of this present life; but—with shame be it spoken!—by the unworthy neglect
of his parents and governors he remained illiterate till he was twelve years old or more, though
by day and night he was an attentive listened to the Saxon poems which he often heard recited,
and, being apt at learning, kept them in his memory. He was a zealous practiser of hunting in all
its branches, and followed the chase with great assiduity and success; for his skill and good
fortune in this art, and in all other gifts of God, were beyond those of every one else, as I have
often witnessed.”
Passage 8
“Almighty God in His Providence now chose to give further proof of [his] glory in Heaven by
putting it into the minds of the brethren to dig up his bones. They expected to find the bones
quite bare (as is usual with the dead), the rest of the body having dwindled away to dust. They
were going to put them in a light casket in some fitting place above the ground in order to give
them their due veneration…This they did (on the 20th of March, the anniversary of the burial),
On opening the coffin they found the body completely intact, looking as though still alive, and
the joints of the limbs still flexible. It seemed not dead, but sleeping. The vestments, all of them,
were not merely unfaded but crisp and fresh like new, and wonderfully bright. The monks were
filled with great fear and trembling; they could not speak, did not dare look at the miracle, and
hardly knew where to turn. Taking some of the out garments with them as a sign of the
incorruption—for they were afraid to touch anything that had been next to his skin—they
hurried off to the bishop.”
Passage 9
“
Now I cannot recall
Any fight you entered, [name withheld], that bears comparison…
You killed your own kith and kin,
So for all your cleverness and quick tongue,
You will suffer damnation in the depths of hell.
The fact is, [name withheld], if you were
As keen or courageous as you claim to be
Grendel would never have got away with
Such unchecked atrocity, attacks on your king,
Havoc in Heorot and horrors everywhere…
But he knows he can trample down you Danes
To his heart’s comfort, humiliate and murder
Without feat of reprisal.”
Passage 10
“But generally the spear
Is prompt to retaliate when a prince is killed,
No matter how admirable the bride may be.
Think how the Heatho-Bards are bound to feel,
Their lord, Ingeld, and his loyal thanes,
When he walks in with that woman to the feast:
Danes are at the table, being entertained,
Honored guest in glittering regalia,
Burnished ring-mail that was their hosts’ birthright….”
Part III: Take-Home Essay (1 of 2 choices; 30 points)
Write an essay on one of the following two questions, each of which has a prompt offering you
a critical idea to work with. Make sure your essay has a guiding premise (aka a “thesis”) and
selects its evidence carefully to develop a focused, well-reasoned argument. Take no more than
one hour to compose your essay, for which you may use both your text and notes. After you
download and read the essay, you have one hour to complete it.
Option I
Arguing against those who invoke the Anglo-Saxon “heroic code” as an abstract set of
imperatives, John Hill claims that “when characters violently support lords or kin or each other
in these [Anglo-Saxon heroic] stories, they do so in either a social or psychological context.” He
then argues that any representation of heroic violence in an Anglo-Saxon text must be
analyzed with respect to the “political agenda” of the text, especially with respect to the
“tensions [that] arise from the inherently psycho-social nature of heroic actions within
changeable expectations and circumstances.”
Write an essay in which you examine the ethical, moral, and social conflicts pertaining to at least
three acts of violence in Anglo-Saxon texts. Your examples must come from at least two
different texts, at least one of which should be a religious text. The violence can be historical, to
which a text responds, or it can be folded within the narrative itself. Be sure to address the way
the representations of violence relates to the social, cultural, or political position of the text, as
well as the way it represents responses to that act of violence by social actors. Develop a guiding
premise (aka a “thesis”) about the relationship between and among these acts of violence.
Option II
In discussing the resonance of the word wyrd in Anglo-Saxon culture, Sean Pollack writes,
“Both romantic mythological criticism and Christian exegesis ignore the syncretism inherent in
much of Old English literary culture: a mixture of not only particularly traditional Anglo-Saxon
culture, but Latin Patristics, classical culture, Norse and Celtic motifs.”
Write an essay in which you use this notion of syncretism (or blending of two systems of belief)
to analyze the appearance of the concept of wyrd in at least three texts we have read in this
class. Make sure to outline the way in which Christian and non-Christian elements of belief
interact in this concept: where are there patterns of overlap or patterns of tension? Also, make
sure to analyze the rhetorical situation of the text: who invokes the notion of wyrd and why?
What comfort does it provide (or fail to provide)? If the concept arises in a narrative text, how
does the text treat the character who invokes wyrd? What kinds of action (physical or
philosophical) or belief are demanded of the person who contemplates his/her wyrd? Develop a
guiding premise (aka a “thesis”) about the tensions and syntheses intrinsic to the concept of
Develop a guiding premise (aka a “thesis”) about the tensions and syntheses intrinsic to the
concept of wyrd in these different texts.
Research Paper/Critical Essay: Anglo-Saxon Literature
Length: 8-10 pp.; due December 13th, noon
This critical essay provides an opportunity for you to develop your ideas about Anglo-Saxon
literature and culture through reading, research, and close analysis of literary texts. Throughout
the class, I have emphasized a “problem” approach to culture, prompting you to think about the
texts as emerging from cultural contexts in which they serve to help readers think through
central problems or issues in complex ways. I expect you to take this approach to your reading
and research for this essay: try to define a problem that does not have a clear and simple
“answer” for you, but is an “open idea” that you hope to clarify through reading. I expect this
reading to be reflected in your essay in terms of a considered response to other people’s ideas,
demonstrated by judicious, selective quotations from which you take key principles or ideas to
develop in your own analysis.
Stages of Writing
Stage I: Formulate a Prospectus (Blackboard 9: due 11/08)
By Monday night, I want you to post a prospectus, which should be a developed plan for what
you hope to accomplish in your paper. There is no “formula” for a Prospectus, but you will want
to address the following things:
1) What is the central problem you hope to address in your reading/research? You will
probably want to write at least a paragraph on this, in which you set your topic in the
context of the material you have read so far in the class.
2) What texts do you hope to examine and why?
3) What kind of reading/research do you want to do or have you done already? What do you
want to get from your reading?
II. Research, Read, Reflect (Blackboard 10: due 11/22)
A good annotated bibliography is essentially: 1) a working document from which you will draw
quotes and material when you write your paper; and 2) a “draft” of your paper, or sections of
your paper. I have provided “sample entries” of scholarship on Anglo-Saxon poetry so that you
have a good model for how the a.b. can help you organized research and you can read material
relevant to the class.
I would like you to submit an annotated bibliography on 11/22. It need not be complete, but it
should include at that point at least 5 entries (i.e., the minimum of 5 sources that I expect you to
read and digest) and at least 3 annotations (i.e., 3 sources that you have read and responded to).
Entries should conform to MLA style (see Chapter 4, “Documentation: Preparing the List of
Works Cited,” MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 5th edition, ed. Joseph Gibaldi.
New York: MLA Pub, 1999, 111-202; or Diane Hacker, A Writer’s Reference, the English
Department’s Official Style Guide, pp. 325ff).
Each annotation should include at least 1-2 sentences on each of the following: 1) Topic of the
article, including relevance to Chaucer’s life or writing; 2) a specific account of the thesis of the
article; 3) a summary and analysis of the evidence used; 4) problems or questions raised by the
article and their relevance to the course or to your research project. If you do this well, you may
find yourself writing whole paragraphs that develop from your reading, and this material may be
integrated into your paper at a later date.
III. Draft Your Essay: Bring to class 3 copies on Tuesday,
December 7th.
All of us have different styles of composing essays, but I expect that you will produce at least
one draft that your peers and I can read, critique, and help you revise. We will conduct in-class
workshops on these essays, reading and responding to the writing in small groups, as well as
discussing as a group certain collective issues of style and documentation.
IV. Reread, Revise: Final draft due on December 13th, noon.
This is where the rubber hits the road: when you take the suggestions, feedback, and your own
critical self-reflection back into the revision process. Here is when you will make sure you clean
up the essay of any stylistic or grammatical interference, as well as make those changes that
make your writing sing, rather than merely speak.
Your final draft should: be typed in 12” font; double-spaced; have 1” margins on all sides but the
top, which should be 1 1/2”; and include a title page with your paper title, name, course name,
professor’s name, assignment reference and date. You should include a Works Cited page and
follow the MLA documentation style. My standards for written prose are stringent. If you feel
your writing needs particular attention, make an appointment to see me and I will suggest writing
resources for you to consult as you prepare your papers.
*Please note: As an instructor of a general education course, you will be expected to provide
sample assessment items and corresponding responses to the Assessment Advisory Committee.